a drink worthy for the gods- or maybe a rap star
by corkchop
Summary: hot chocolate on a frosty winter day can do wonders. especially with a friend to hold onto.


_Hot Chocolate Soothes the Soul_

**A/N: Don`t kill me Gone! I was busy with school, and I left my memory stick at school with it on it! I had to re-type it. Please enjoy, my dear readers. Please review. **

The heavens wore a musky gray, a blend of natural and artificial color due to the lulling trail of smoke wafting from the brick chimney. Down below the frost-bitten ground was engulfed in a thick carpet of freshly fallen snow. The emerging sunlight glinted dully off the powdery substance. Few people were out, given to the fact that the temperature was far below freezing level and the biting gusts of winds outside. Most were kicking back, jovially savoring a mug of steaming hot cocoa beside a crackling hearth.

But one person was not.

Jonah Wizard was silently mourning and in a state of shock. Of all the others, he was the most affected by the prior events. He had witnessed a duo of ruthless killings, executed within heartbeats of one another. And the thing that shook him most that he had played a role in the later massacre.

He was a murderer.

All it had taken was a twitch of a finger, even if it was a nervous spasm; the clockwork clinking sound emitted from the trigger at last relieved of the pressure. It did not seem of much at the time, committed simply without a thought. Now, he thought differently. How he would live with unnecessary deaths hanging on with a death grip to his conscience, one of a friend and another belonging to a Vesper. He would never know.

A gentle voice interrupted his deep thoughts. Jonah fluttered his eye lashes drowsily, and his vision focused. Sinead Starling`s image of a jungle of usually perfectly groomed auburn hair was in tangles and her preppy clothes was in front of him.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Sinead offered as she held out the entrancing mug, "It soothes the soul."

Jonah accepted the cup gratefully and cradled it in his palm, "Thank you." His voice filtered out crackly and dry from lack of use.

As he glanced up at her, he noticed that her eyes had dark bags shallowed underneath. She usually did have circles under her eyes, but today they seemed more significant than the norm. Sinead did spend a good amount of time crafting schematics at night, but it suspiciously seemed that something else was occupying her time too—crying, possibly.

"Are you thinking about the hostages too? She said flashing a grim smile, "It must be really hard for you that Phoenix is gone."

Jonah ruefully twiddled his dirt-caked thumbs. _Oops._ He reflected.

"No." He admitted guiltily, "I cannot take my mind of killing Luna and Erasmus dying. It seems as if the whole world is a nightmare never ceasing to wake."

Sinead was silent for a moment before delivering her reply, "Amato was a Vesper, more evil in her than human. She had destroyed the lives of many more innocent people. She deserved an end worse than a bullet."

He swigged a long draft of hot cocoa, as if to get drunk. "But, what about Erasmus?" he cried out, raw grief overtaking him. "He was innocent; all he did was attempt to defend Hammer and I."

"Erasmus died a hero`s death, it`s not your fault at all." Cooed Sinead reassuringly, "It`s the same with both of their murders, both had a cause, one good, another demented. You're a good person Jonah. Stay golden."

Jonah sipped his drink wistfully, recalling good memories while gazing into the fire depths of the entrancing fire. It`s vivid embers ranged from an electric blue to an vibrant orange. The flames licking out resembled the last bare traces of waves lapping out onto the beach during sunset. Sparks formed a miniscule fireworks show, perhaps for a bug`s pleasure. As he levered his gaze onto the icicle-adorned window, the snow banks were beginning to thaw and the icicles began to begin the steady drip-drip of melting. A few green sprouts broke through their icy prison. People enveloped in padded clothes trickled slowly out of their oak wood insulated cabins, laughing, and enjoying the remainder of snow. A new hope sparked in Jonah`s mind. The undergrowth had survived the harsh winter. It had persevered. So could he. He could survive and flourish the agonizing weeks to cone. He was strong. He was a Cahill.

"Thank you Sinead," Thanked Jonah with enthusiasm, "There is something I need to do."

He had to be strong when his family and the world needed him most.

This one is for Phoenix.


End file.
